


Gone, But Not Forgotten

by Darklions3429



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Major Spoilers, Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Spoilers, Waiting, i totally didn't tear up when i wrote this, meeting in heaven, they're literally so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darklions3429/pseuds/Darklions3429
Summary: She's gone, but he has to keep on living.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Nanami Chiaki, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko (mentioned)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	Gone, But Not Forgotten

“Please… don’t forget me. Because I won’t forget you!”

Chiaki’s final words echoed in Hajime’s head as he watched the final block crash down upon her. The world seemed to spiral around him as his mind focused back on the trial grounds. Before he knew it, his knees hit the ground, an infinite pit opening up in his stomach. She was gone. Gone. There was no getting her back. Everything in his body wanted to cry, but no tears came. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but he no longer could. He wanted to tell her he loved her, he wanted to tell her that he thought her hoodie was cute, but most of all, he wanted to thank her. He wanted to thank her for all that she did for him, and all of the paths she opened his eyes to. But he couldn’t. Not anymore. 

Fuyuhiko knelt down next to him and placed a reassuring hand on his back, drawing circles in an attempt to calm him. He knew what it was like. He knew how it felt to lose someone so close to you so quickly. No words were exchanged between the two boys as Hajime mourned. After a minute, Hajime stood up and Fuyuhiko followed, a soft expression replacing his normally angry disposition. Fuyuhiko held open his arms and Hajime latched onto him, body wracked with tears, shuddering as he inhaled. He stumbled backward, as he didn’t expect the taller boy to suddenly embrace him like that, but he held on tight. Soon enough, he found his own throat catching, and tears began welling up in his eyes. 

The two boys cried in each other’s arms while the other three looked on, sharing their lament. Why did it have to be Chiaki? Why did it have to be the soft, comforting, yet affirmative presence that graced all of their trials thus far? Why did Nagito go through all of this? Why did he make all of them suffer? Why did he condemn an innocent girl to her death? So many questions left unanswered as Hajime struggled to process everything. 

He saw her again at the final class trial. How? How was this possible? Is this just a memory of her, or is this a vision straight from her?

“If you just do it, everything will turn out okay!”

Those were the last words that she spoke at the end of her speech. He considered her words as they applied to his situation in the class trial. What did she mean? What was she trying to tell him? What was he supposed to do? He introspected for a moment, thinking about the culmination of all of his and his classmates’ efforts. 

“If I… just do it?”

Suddenly, Hajime was fueled by Chiaki’s words, filled with determination to build a new future and filled with raw, unbridled hope. Hajime charged forward with his newfound hope, hope for the future, backed by Chiaki’s encouragement. He would not let her memory go to waste. He shattered the despair that was looming over the group, threatening to take them into a chokehold. As he watched Makoto, Kyoko, and Byakuya sail off into the distance, his mind rested on Chiaki, her soft, lavender-colored hair, her hopeful pink eyes, and he wondered what he should say to her once she woke up.

But she never did. 

His heart dropped to the ground when everyone else came to, but Chiaki failed to come back. Why? Why this again? Why did he have to lose her again? Hajime scrambled, looking for an answer, doing everything in his power to bring her back, but he was hit with a harsh reality. She was an AI. An AI sent by the Future Foundation to monitor them and report back to them. Her in-game avatar was only that - an avatar. There was no body for her consciousness to come back to. The body she once had and was based on was long gone. Dead. There was no coming back. His hope was shattered, but this time, there was no Chiaki to rebuild it. She couldn’t be there to mend his broken soul once again. 

Chiaki’s words once again echoed in his stream of thoughts. “If you just do it, everything will turn out okay!”

“Everything will turn out okay, huh?”

He stood up from his chair and steeled his resolve. He would not lose sight of the future. He was going to rebuild it from the ground up, no matter what. From that day forward, he pressed on, doing his best to rebuild hope in humanity. 

It took years, but things were starting to look normal again. The world was at peace and rebuilding, and Hope’s Peak Academy was running once again, under new leadership and a bright outlook for the future of talent. He settled into an apartment by himself, and he lived out his days as an instructor at the Reserve Course at Hope’s Peak. It wasn’t ideal, but he quickly grew to enjoy the job and the Reserve Course students. 

Scattered in various places in his apartment, he had a few potted flowers. Lavender, specifically. They were planted in small, rocketship shaped pots, and he kept at least one in each room. On his desk, on a bookshelf, nightstand, wherever. They served a dual purpose - it made his apartment smell quite nice, which his friends very much appreciated, but they also were a close match to the color of Chiaki’s hair. Lavender was also Chiaki’s preferred shampoo scent, and it provided comfort to Hajime, that Chiaki was watching over him wherever he went. 

Shortly after Hope’s Peak was rebuilt, Fuyuhiko got married to Peko. The wedding ceremony was held and everyone was in high spirits, drinking and laughing their way through the night. Hajime enjoyed himself as well, joining in on the festivities, getting drunk, and passing out. During the actual wedding ceremony though, his heart ached as there was a hole in his heart that Hajime wanted to fill, but couldn’t. The wound stayed open, dripping tears of longing and desire. More and more of his friends got married, and each ceremony he went to, it amounted to the same sad and lost sucking cavity in his chest as he went home to his apartment.

Hajime tried dating, but nothing ever turned out well. He stayed on good terms with most of the people he dated, but there was something that turned him off from continuing the relationship. He found himself comparing them to Chiaki. It was always that way and in the 15 years he tried to date, no one ever stuck. The longest relationship he had was 6 months, and that was solely because the girl looked like Chiaki. But she wasn’t her, and never would be. He tried his best, but his feelings didn’t stick, and he broke it off with her. Hajime lived from then on alone, without a partner. 

The years came and they went. Hajime aged accordingly, his body changing and his outlook on life, the world, and everything with it changing too. But there was one thing that never changed. Chiaki. She remained in his heart as a deep chord that was striking a sweet and powerful melody, and try as he might, the volume couldn’t be reduced. But he was okay with that. He held onto that song for the rest of his life.

One by one, his friends slowly began to pass away. Whether it be from accidents, disease, or old age, his friends were dwindling. He wondered what it was like in heaven, or wherever people go when they die. What did they see? What did they do? That question lingered on his tongue until he found himself on his own death bed. In the hospital room, surrounded by his surrogate children, grandchildren, as well as Fuyuhiko and his Peko, the last two of his friends still alive (much to his surprise, considering their line of work), he asked them one final question.

“Will I get to see Chiaki again?”

Fuyuhiko smiled and nodded. “I think you will. She’s probably there waiting for you right now.”

“...okay. Thank you.”

With that, he drew one final, strained breath, and he felt lightheaded as he lost consciousness. The room filled up with black spots in his vision until it finally all faded to black. Cold. That was the predominant feeling that he had as the last of his life essence was slowly drained away from him.

“This is what death feels like, huh? Kind of underwhelming, really.” 

When he opened his eyes again, he was blinded. And warm. Warm? Why was he warm? He looked up when his eyes adjusted and he saw a bright, open, and blue sky. His gaze shifted back down, and he saw his body. He was wearing the same white shirt, green tie, and black jeans that he had when he was on Jabberwock Island. He looked at his hands and saw untarnished and smooth skin, like that of a teenager or young adult. He was young again. 

“That makes sense,” he supposed. “This was my body’s prime. Death probably sends you to the age where you were the most able in the afterlife.” 

His ears filled with the sounds of a beach, and he recognized where he was standing. One of Jabberwock Island’s beaches. The smell of the sea filled his nose and he was brought back to a happier time, filled with memories with Chiaki. He heard a voice, and it was like Chiaki was actually talking to him.  _ This is nice _ , he thought.  _ Wait, what? _

“Hajime!”

“Chiaki?”

He turned around to face the speaker. In front of him stood a small girl clad in pink shoes, black thigh-high socks, a beige skirt, a white dress shirt with a pink collar ribbon tied in a bow, and her signature dark teal-grey cat hood cardigan. Her pink eyes shone brightly as she smiled at Hajime, whose eyes were building up with tears as he quickly began to recognize the girl in front of him.

Hajime stepped forward and caressed her cheek gently. His fingers made sweet contact with her skin, confirming her presence as real. 

“Chiaki…!” Her name escaped his lips, straining against his vocal cords. He enveloped her in a tight embrace as his tears began flowing freely, his sobbing the only noise that filled the air. So many thoughts ran through Hajime’s head as he hugged the girl he longed for all his life. So many things he wanted to tell her and so many feelings he wanted to get out. All of which failed to verbalize as he only had enough processing power to hold onto her as tight as he could, not wanting to let go of her again. Chiaki gasped before she began giggling as she returned the embrace.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> So uh, the end of Chapter 5 made me angry. Hence why I wrote this. These two are so cute and I love them to death.


End file.
